Transportation, the movement of people, animals, goods and other items from one place to another, is an essential part of life for many people. If one stays in one's home, it is relatively difficult to support oneself unless one lives on a farm with the knowledge and resources to do so. Most people must travel to other places in order to purchase necessities such as food and clothing, to purchase other less important items such as books, toys, or accessories, and to commute to and from their place of work. There are many other reasons for a person to traverse significant distances, including taking a vacation, sightseeing, visiting relatives, making purchases, transporting items from one place to another, and going on business trips.
Transportation and has come a long way throughout the ages. In primitive times, the primary method of travel aside from on foot was riding atop animals such as horses, mules, camels and other beasts of burden. As knowledge and technology developed, new and improved forms of transportation came into existence, such as the bicycle, horse-drawn carriages and eventually the transportation methods we are familiar with today including motor vehicles such as cars, motorcycles, trucks and buses, aircraft such as fixed-wing airplanes and helicopters, trains, and watercraft such as motorboats.
A motorcycle is a two or three wheeled motor vehicle that can be said to be essentially an evolution of the bicycle or a fusion or halfway step between a bicycle and a car, since a motorcycle has the general structure of and similar operation to a bicycle but it is heavier and motorized like a car, making it a feasible transportation alternative to a car in many situations. Depending on the region, motorcycles may be less or more common than cars for the primary means of motorized transport. In Taiwan, for example, the number of motorcycles per population is purportedly twice that of automobiles per population due to lack of public transport and income levels that put automobiles out of financial reach for many. In the United States, on the other hand, motorcycles are a less common method of personal transportation than cars, but those who do own motorcycles tend to take great pride in the appearance and performance of their motorcycle. Motorcycle owners enjoy spending time on the care and maintenance of their motorcycle and may choose to make custom modifications to the motorcycle in order to achieve a unique appearance. Large motorcycles in particular are often a source of great pride for their owners, due to their distinct appearance, distinct sound and high performance. One popular motorcycle modification is to replace the original rear wheel tire with an oversize aftermarket tire, which has the effect of enhancing the expression of power and performance of the motorcycle. A wide tire modification also has the practical benefit of improving the ride of the motorcycle as well as the handling, maneuverability and traction of the motorcycle.
A wide tire cannot simply be swapped into a motorcycle with all stock parts because the dimensions of the oversized tire are too large to be compatible, so further modifications are necessary including custom support members for the wheel and drive components as well as custom drive components due to the misalignment of the drive pulley that results from installing a wider tire.
Motorcycle modifications tend to be quite costly due to the cramped nature of the drive elements and the use of custom parts and special tools. A motorcycle owner may wish to make a modification such as installation of a wide tire, but may not have the mechanical inclination or appropriate tools to do it themselves and so must take the motorcycle to a fabrication shop, which can be expensive. A kit providing all the necessary components and detailed instructions for a non-mechanically inclined motorcycle owner is desired so that the motorcycle owner may perform the modifications themselves. Modifications kits do exist, but they do not provide a complete system for the motorcycle owner to do everything on their own, forcing the owner to secure the additional services of a fabrication shop in order to complete the modification. In addition, in securing the services of a fabrication shop, the motorcycle owner is handing their motorcycle over to be worked on by someone who may not have their best interests at heart, and a real possibility exists that the outcome will not be what the owner expected or desired. Being able to perform the complete modification from beginning to end is desired so that the owner may be assured of the integrity and safety of the modification and achieve the satisfaction and comfort of knowing that they accomplished a noteworthy goal with only their own effort.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a user-friendly wide tire install kit for motorcycles.